It`s hot

But maybe I just think it`s especially hot today because I had to drag one of my suitcases to the office today.

I`m going to an orientation in Kagoshima city until tomorrow, then going to a culture center in Kanoya for culture and language lessons until Friday. So, I have my packed suitcase right next to me.

We had a typhoon! I`ve experienced those before, I think it was moreso the edge rather than the stronger part of it. Being from the Monterey area, I`m not used to thunder and lightning storms that last longer than around 10~20 minutes. It`s pretty crazy.

My apartment is beginning look a lot more like a place where I live. I have pictures up and things like that. I took pictures and was going to use my friend/neighbor/fellow ALT`s internet to upload them, but she wasn`t at her house yesterday evening for some reason. Oh well...

I`ve been experiencing some frustration on the language end in that sometimes when I try to speak Japanese to people, I can understand what they are telling me but I can`t think of the suitable reply at the moment, so they think I don`t understand at all. For example, I decided to try to call the post office yesterday on my own instead of waiting until later and getting a native Japanese speaker to help me. I understood what she was saying I felt like we were getting done everything that we needed, but she still referred me to a English language line that charged a fee. That was kind of frustrating.

In other news, it looks like I`m buying a car. It was `strongly suggested` by my supervisor and, according to Charlie and some others, renting a car is better if you only plan to stay for one year, otherwise it`s better to buy. Aya has a relative in Kagoshima city who sells cars and I`ll probably get a good deal from him.